Paperwork for travelling jumpers worldwide - please contribute

Obvious and easy to find out? I've used my USPA membership card to jump in Thailand, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, and never had a problem.

There are at least a couple DZs in Ontario that won't accept a USPA membership. They require CSPA. I'm trying to find out why. Anyone have an idea?

Folding money ... lots of it.

For the UK, as best as I can remember ('cos I can't be bothered to look it up at www.bpa.org.uk)

FAI membership (to prove your licence level)

Membership of BPA or home country if it provides insurance of £1m (I think, it may be a litle less but it's a lot) - however USPA is NOT recognised as insurance in the UK.

Medical form (under 40 and in good health you self-certify there and then, above 40 you need a doctor's signature).

Generally a logbook or proof that you are current.

Reserve card for your gear - 6 month reserve re-pack (not sure if the BPA recognise longer re-packs for countries that allow 1 year). If packed by UK packer then it will also have an "MOT" form stating what was checked, reserve pull force, serial numbers etc.

You must jump with a reserve, which is packed by a qualified reserve packer/rigger or foreign equivalant.

If the gear is grounded in the UK then you can't jump it.

AADs not mandatory (individual DZ may have local rules requiring AAD).

ALL jumpers in the UK have to wear suitable headgear (frappe hat is the minimum required - but you have to 200 jumps to use one). Oh and I think the BPA also required you to wear shoes for a jump (though no other clothing is specified).

Good links to a local witch doctor to stop the rain, winds and clouds long enough to jump

Blue skies

Paul

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For the UK, as best as I can remember ('cos I can't be bothered to look it up at www.bpa.org.uk)

FAI membership (to prove your licence level)

Membership of BPA or home country if it provides insurance of £1m (I think, it may be a litle less but it's a lot) - however USPA is NOT recognised as insurance in the UK.

€1.3M

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Medical form (under 40 and in good health you self-certify there and then, above 40 you need a doctor's signature).

Section 11 (Medical) Para 2 (General) Sub-Para 2.6 (Foreign Parachutists) says,

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A parachutist from a foreign country may parachute at a BPA Club if he/she fulfils the medical requirements of that parachutist’s own country.

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Generally a logbook or proof that you are current.

Reserve card for your gear - 6 month reserve re-pack (not sure if the BPA recognise longer re-packs for countries that allow 1 year).

Section 6 (Equipment) Para 8 (Parachute Packing) Sub-Para 8.5 says,

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Reserve parachutes that have been packed in a foreign country, in a manner acceptable to the parachuting organisation of that country, may be jumped at a BPA Club for up to 6 months from the date of that packing. This is provided that the parachuting organisation of that foreign country allows 6 months validity for a reserve repack; otherwise the foreign country’s lesser time will apply. In the case of visiting foreign parachutists the length of time may be up to 12 months, depending on the repack cycles permitted in their country.

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If packed by UK packer then it will also have an "MOT" form stating what was checked, reserve pull force, serial numbers etc.

You must jump with a reserve, which is packed by a qualified reserve packer/rigger or foreign equivalant.

If the gear is grounded in the UK then you can't jump it.

AADs not mandatory (individual DZ may have local rules requiring AAD).

ALL jumpers in the UK have to wear suitable headgear (frappe hat is the minimum required - but you have to 200 jumps to use one). Oh and I think the BPA also required you to wear shoes for a jump (though no other clothing is specified).

Good links to a local witch doctor to stop the rain, winds and clouds long enough to jump

Blue skies

Paul

I have to do a search, there's a thread back where I attached most of the TSA policies and the Cypress card etc. I don't know if I still have those. Easy to keep a copy set together while traveling. Also each airline has their own rules - helpful to have those handy.

Has anyone posted probably the most important paperwork for a traveling jumper to have? A valid passport from their home country.

Sparky

Ahh, but a citizen of a European Union nation does not legally require a passport to travel to other EU nation states, mearly they need proof of EU citizenship - and once you are on mainland Europe most of the countrys don't even have a manned boarder anyway!

Paul

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Ahh, but a citizen of a European Union nation does not legally require a passport to travel to other EU nation states, mearly they need proof of EU citizenship - and once you are on mainland Europe most of the countrys don't even have a manned boarder anyway!

Paul

And I don't need one to travel in the 50 United States, but if I leave them I need a passport.

Sparky

anyone know anything about for Israel dz's. They are kind of hard to get in touch with, and I heard they are pretty specific with their requirements for traveling jumpers.

updaten for czech republic:

saftey guy at dz wanted so see following papers bedides of license and third party insurance (same as last year).

1) Card for main including serial and DOM + last inspection
2) card for gear including serial. DOM and last inspection
3) card for reserve including serial, DOM and last inspection/repack
4) AAD with DOM, serial and last inspection/maintenance

preferably in english and Czech language, everything signed of by a rigger with seal#

as I have no idea if all the czech dz's really are as thorough i strongy recommend of getting your stuff together - no need to stay on ground for a lack of "papers"

attached you'll find the solution my riggers came up with

New Zealand

New Zealand is fickle,

There are three different part 149 organisations that issue licenses.

1, The NZPIA, these guys are the babylon forces of darkness, haha. not really but they can be difficult to deal with and unreasonable. Most of the major DZ's are under the NZPIA as the NZPIA shareholders are comprised of the Dropzone owners that were in existance at the time. anod for the most part are not into sport jumpers, there are exceptions to that.

2, The NZSA, these guy are easy to deal with, inexpensive and promt, you can have your authority to jump immediately, and you can complete a high altitude test immediately at no cost (if need be), where the NZPIA can make you pay $170 for a high altitude test for going to 15k

3, The NZPO, these are the new guys, not too sure how they roll but have not herd any bad things.

The CAA has requested that all part 149 organisations recognise each others licenses and ratings, though the NZPIA cant quite fathom that concept it seems.

As a foreign jumper you can usually use your license from your own country if it is recognised, you will normally have to become a temporary member.

At the NZSA this cost NZ$10, and you are away.

Accident insurance is not required in New Zealand as EVERYBOY is covered for accidents whether they are a citizen or not under the socialised ACC accident insurance scheme.

At my DZ you can rock up, pay $10, and be at 18k in 30 minutes, if you have not been signed off for high altitude you will have to sit a basic test with study material supplied.

Some DZ's such as NZONE you will have to Pay $80 for your first jump, bugger knows why but that is how it is.

In NZ at present expect a little confusion when travelling to different DZ's due to these different organisations, and you can blame the NZPIA for anti competative behaviour in the past for this being the case.

The NZPIA is the only 149 organisation that carries comprehensive public liability insurance - and my high altitude endorsement was done online / instantly and cost $20.

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The NZPIA is the only 149 organisation that carries comprehensive public liability insurance - and my high altitude endorsement was done online / instantly and cost $20.

Our dropzone has its own comprehensive liability insurance that covers all jumpers that jump here, it costs us less than $2k and saves us more than $6k of fees annually from PIA.

As far as the high altitude test is concerned I had a jumper come to our DZ a few weeks ago for a fun jump, he was charged $170 for high altitude test, and his tandem rating issued at NZONE was issued for use at NZONE only. This is against the CAA part 149 regulations, and the requests of the CAA for each part 149 to accomodate the use of licenses and ratings of each subsequent 149 organisation.

I said you 'may' be charged that amount as I know of one instace where that is the case or at least I was informed of it that way.

It is free at NZSA.

At one busy Czech dz for me last summer the formalities were "normal":
fill out the form, pay for the jump ticket and within half an hour I was at altitude. I can't remember whether they checked any documents or not. Anyway, dz staff was very courteous, friendly, minimum BS.

If you want to study a skydiving community suffering from the influences of self -interest and bureaucracy, come to New Zealand. New Zealand, the back-stabbingest, bad-mouthingest, small-minded, bureaucratic bullshit capital of the skydiving world. A complete embarrasment to those of us who live here.
My apologies to those guests from overseas who are subjected to this crap.

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and his tandem rating issued at NZONE was issued for use at NZONE only.

Are you sure you aren't confusing the rating with the conditions of a work permit. The rating being issued by a Part 149 organisation, and the other issued by NZ immigration. If the rating holder is sponsored by an organisation then they are restricted by law to work at that organisation only.

yo. i would like to start whatever thats mean. I have no idea how? give me some basics. Parachuting first?

copied from the BPA mag:

FAI Certificates are changing... but only in name. The FAI has advised the BPA that they should no longer be known as FAI National Certificates, and that they should bear the BPA's name instead. Since the name was changing anyway, Council took the opportunity to also change it from Certificate to Licence, since many people refer to them as licences. So from April 1st 2012 they will be known as a 'BPA National Parachutist Licence', or just 'A Licence', 'B Licence', 'C Licence' and 'D Licence'.

New books have been printed for all licences issued from April, and all previously issued Certificates remain valid.

Skydive Spain is very specific as far as paperwork and requirements:

1. Valid skydiving license
2. Proof of third party liability insurance for skydiving (valid for Spain) (foreign jumpers please make sure the document is readable in English and/or Spanish)
3. Correctly written up logbook and up to date
4. If bringing your own rig, it must be in serviceable condition and we reserve the right to refuse the use of rig if we believe it is not safe
5. Signed and correctly filled in reserve card with valid repack cycle for the reserve packer’s qualification
6. Valid and maintained AAD documents
7. If you wish to jump camera, please show proof of at least 200 jumps in your log book
8. If you wish to jump a full-face helmet with the visor in place, please show proof of at least 50 jumps in your log book
9. If on student status, you will need a medical certificate (self certified under 40 years old)

additionally, if you wish to rent an alti, they require you to leave your ID (passport, drivers licence, etc.) with them

Do you know if the USPA insurance is sufficient for the 3rd party liability insurance requirement.

DougH

Do you know if the USPA insurance is sufficient for the 3rd party liability insurance requirement.

Doug - sorry for the late reply. As far as I know, if you are a US citizen, the UPSA 3rd party cover is sufficient. Us poor foreigners jumping on USPA membership pay more for membership, but don't get the insurance cover; so when you meet a foreign member - say thanks for the subsidy

Hi everyone, many European dropzones require insurance up to 1,300,000 euros to jump, any suggestions on where to get it?
I emailed USPA and obviously they don't provide such coverage.

what do you guys get in terms of insurance when you are traveling? and where?
thanks!

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2. Licence: Visiting jumper must show a valid licence recognised in their home country

Unfortunately this is not 100% true.

I am an Austrian citizen and live in the US where I have my license.
Austria (and probably most of Europe?) does not accept the USPA license as valid, because the USPA is not a governmental organization, but a private club.
When I wanted to jump in Austria, they told me I had to call the areoclub and get my USPA license officially validated by them before I would be able to jump. The specific drop zone where I wanted to jump said they used to make exceptions, but not anymore.
It might be useful to confirm the exact process that they require (I ended up not having enough time to jump while I was there, so I did not go through it myself)

--Thanks for putting this together!

mbohu

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2. Licence: Visiting jumper must show a valid licence recognised in their home country

Unfortunately this is not 100% true.

I am an Austrian citizen and live in the US where I have my license.
Austria (and probably most of Europe?) does not accept the USPA license as valid, because the USPA is not a governmental organization, but a private club.

I don't doubt your experience with that particular dropzone, and it may even be a thing across Austria, but I lived in Germany and jumped several DZs in Germany and France on a CSPA membership and license, and had many American friends jumping on their USPA docs. Never had a problem.

The only thing I ran into that I didn't like was the "rigger" inspecting my gear at check-in in Lachen-Speyerdorf with a lit cigarette hanging from his mouth with 3cm of ash and ember.

It is definitely a thing in Austria.

The link is in German, but in "§3 Fallschirme", you can see which countries / licences are valid in Austria.

http://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=20009812

If your country / licence is not on the list, you can obtain a temporary licence for jumping in Austria. If you go to a dropzone, that does train new skydivers, the so called "Ausbildungsleiter" / training manager at this dropzone can grant you such a temporary licence.